Just Say No to Canadian Drugs

August 28, 2003

Cities and states should not encourage people to purchase drugs from other countries, nor should they look to import drugs from places like Canada to relieve their own strapped budgets, the Food and Drug Administration warns.

In a strongly worded letter to the California attorney general's office, the FDA this week said any city or state that tried to import drugs from Canada or other countries would likely run afoul of a federal law and would raise public health concerns.

The FDA letter and the interest by local governments in purchasing drugs from Canada come as the drug industry tries to clamp down on international pharmacies in Canada - and Canadians themselves debate the effects of the growing sales of drugs to U.S. residents, now estimated at close to $1 billion.

There is increasing tension on both sides of the border:

Some Canadians say the international pharmacies are exacerbating a shortage of pharmacists by luring them from government-funded hospitals and clinics; conversely, the pharmacies are providing clerical and service jobs in some regions.

Medical societies in Canada have condemned as unethical the practice of doctors paid to "co-sign" prescriptions for U.S. patients they have never seen.

Some Canadian pharmacists fear drugmakers may limit supplies to Canada, raise prices or forgo launching new drugs there if foreign sales continue.

U.S. customers -- often seniors on fixed incomes -- are protesting as American regulators try to clamp down on Canadian sales through legal actions against operators who help Americans purchase drugs via the Internet. They say the services provide drugs to people who otherwise would not be able to afford them.